Hot water leak at Mercy clears some staff

no patients affected

February 11, 2012|By Nicole Fuller, The Baltimore Sun

Hot water began leaking from a pipe on the fifth floor of Mercy Medical Center in downtown Baltimore Saturday afternoon, causing a very brief evacuation of some medical staff, but had no effect on patients, according to officials.

The Baltimore Fire Department received a call for a "pipe burst" on the fifth floor of the Mary Catherine Bunting Center in the 300 block of St. Paul Street about 2:30 p.m. Staff were evacuated for about 15 minutes while fire officials worked to shut off the water valve. It was unclear how much water was released; hospital officials said they are investigating the cause of the leak.

The fifth floor contains a surgery preparation area and some empty space where a new pain center is planned, said Dan Collins, a Mercy spokesman. The area is part of a 20-story, $450 million tower erected at the medical center in 2010.